Rail-joint



' (No Model.) v

' M. B. LEWIS 8: 0. A. DODGE.

RA'IL JOINT.

No. 354,426. Patented Dec. 14, 1886.

jig/IL F" J z v I l/ V 1/ 1/ J A WITN SSES One/0L MARIS E. LEVIS AND CARLTON A.

RAIL-J PATENT OFFICE.

DODGE, OF ORANGE CITY, IOWVA.

OlNT.

EaPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 354,426, dated December 14-, 1886.

Application filed August 19, 1856.

To all whom, it may concern:

.Be it known that we, MARIs E. LEWIS and CARLTON A. DODGE, of Orange City, in the county of Sioux and State of Iowa, have in vented a new and useful Improvement in Rail- Joints, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention consists in an improved rait joint, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View showing our invention applied to the meeting ends of two rails of ordinary construction. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig. 3 is a detail View of the inner section of the fish-plate, which forms an important feature of our invention; and Fig. 4 is a similar view of the outer section of the said fish-plate.

Referring to the several parts by letter, A A represent the rails, which are of the usual construction.

B indicates a plain fislrplate of the usual construction, which goes on the inner side of the meeting ends of the rails, and which is formed with the transverse apertures B, through which the bolts 0 pass.

0 0 indicate the doubleheaded bolts, each of which is constructed with a head at each of its ends, one of these heads, 0*, being. less in diameter than the other head, 0, as shown. The transverse apertures in the meeting ends of the rails and the plain fislrplate B are of sufficient size to admit of the passage through them of the smaller head, 0, of the bolt, but not of the larger head thereof.

The double fish-platc,which forms the lead ing feature of our invention, is composed of the inner half or section, E, and the outer half or section, F. This inner half of the double fish-plate is formed with the transverse apertures E, of sufficient size to admit of the passage through them of the smaller head of the bolts, and has its inner side made perfectly flat to fit against the side of the rails, while its outer side is formed with the inclined longitudinal planes or notches E, forming the abrupt shoulders E while the inner face-of the outer half or section, F, is'form'ed with the longitudinal inclined projections F, forming the abrupt shoulders F, and the part F is further formed with the longitudinal slots G,

In operation the plain fish-plate B is placed against the inner sides (or the outer sides, if desired) of the meeting ends of the rails, and the double fish -plate is placed against the other side of the ends ofthe rails, with the projectionsof the outer section thereof fitting closely in the inclined recesses of the inner section, in which position the apertures of the inner section and the enlargements of the slots of the outer section register, when the doubleheaded bolts are placed in position by passing their smaller heads through the several apertures of the fish-plates and the rails, the bolts being of such a length as to bring their smaller headsjust on the outer side of the outer half of the double fish-plate, as shown. \Vhen the doubleheaded bolts have been thus inserted through the plates and rails, a metal wedge, H, of the form shown has its reduced lower end or point inserted between two adjacent shoulders of the inner and outer sections of the double fish-plate, as shown, and is driven down between the said shoulders, thereby forcing the shoulders, and consequently the two sections of the fish plate, longitudinally apart, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, which movement, on account of the inclined planes of the recesses and projections of the said sections, forces the two halves of the fishplate farther apart, and thus tightens the fishplates on the rails, forming a more compact,

tight, and solid joint than is possible by any other method, the slots G sliding along the bolts as the parts of the double fish'plate are forced longitudinally apart, so that the inner faces of the smaller heads bear firmly against the outer side of the outer part of the double fish-plate, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The lower end of the we go is curved on its inner side, as shown in Fig. 1, so that as the wedge is driven down this curvature of its lower end will cause the said end to be bent or V turned outward as it comes in contact with the curved lower portion of the rails, thus looking the wedge automatically, and firmly holding it in its operative position.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A rail-joint fastening consisting of asectional fish-plate, one section being apertured 5 and provided with inclined recesses or notches, and the other provided with inclined projections and longitudinal slots having enlargements, a double-headed bolt having'one head of greater diameter than the other, and a Wedge, substantially as herein shown and described. 2. The combination, with the meeting ends of theirails having the transverse apertures, of the double-headed bolts having one head of greater diameter than the other, the flat fishr 5 plate having the transverse apertures, the

MARYS E. LEWIS. v CARLTON A. DODGE.

Witnesses:

O. W. CARTER, U. E. CARTER. 

